Friday, December 21, 2007

My first time cooking with tofu at home...

Recipe
Broccoli Tofu Stir Fry

DR and I both love to order tofu dishes when we're eating out, but trying to cook with it at home has always intimidated me. Until...now! I've found the best tofu recipe, and it's turned out perfectly TWICE when I've made it, so I think it's safe to say that I can officially make tofu! The first time DR tasted this, he said "that's some of the best Asian food I've ever had," which says a lot, because he doesn't hand out compliments easily, especially with meat-free dishes. The flavors in this recipe are fantastic, and the texture of the tofu is perfect. The best advice I was given for achieving the perfect tofu texture was to buy extra-firm, water-packed tofu (at my grocery store, it's in the produce section), drain it and pat it down with a paper towel, then line a plate with a couple layers of paper towel, lay the tofu on the plate, cover it with a couple more paper towels, and weigh it down on top with a heavy plate or can. Let it sit for about 30 minutes - this will help to get most of excess water out and allow for the best texture. Now that I feel confident about my tofu-cooking abilities, I'm anxious to add other recipes to my repertoire...if you have any you'd like to share, please let me know!

3 comments:

swirlingnotions said...

Congrats! Looks like your first tofu foray was a success!

Lately, I've been making tofu "egg" salad that's been getting rave reviews--both with no egg (just tofu) or with a few boiled eggs thrown in. Still haven't written the recipe down though, so I'll forward it when I do.

My all-time favorite "oh-my-gosh-this-actually-worked!" recipe was an Orange Poppy Seed Cake with Candied Kumquats for Fitness magazine. I used silken tofu (a whole different beast than firm tofu) in place of most of the butter and it turned out AMAZING. Give it a shot if you like.

Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

That looks excellent. I too have been worried about cooking with tofu, but after reading this I think I may give it a try!

Elisabeth said...

Lia, thanks for the recipe suggestions...I haven't tried doing anything with silken tofu yet - but it's definitely next on my list!

Anonymous (Anna, I think!) - definitely try this recipe if you wan t to give tofu-cooking a shot. It was surprisingly easy!